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\nThe attention Laura Soto paid to her health kicked into overdrive when she was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago. With unreliable transportation, no health insurance and a lack of fluency in English, she experienced an understandable level of frustration moving from clinic to clinic just to get blood work done, let alone get a clear sense of a way forward with her health.
\nLuckily for her, help came in the form of the Clemson University Joseph F. Sullivan Center. The Sullivan Center staff performed the requisite blood work, and the center\u2019s translator and health coach helped Soto understand what steps she could take to improve her health through diet. She said she was spoiled by the staff. \u201cThe Sullivan Center provided me with a lot of good information that was easy to understand,\u201d Soto said through a translator. \u201cSince my first visit, my diabetes has improved, and I\u2019ve gotten used to all the excellent people; I don\u2019t want anyone else to draw my blood now.\u201d
\nThe best part, according to Soto, is that these services came to her in Walhalla. She received those screenings, along with a mammogram and Pap smear, through the Sullivan Center\u2019s mobile clinic. She was skeptical at first of receiving care from a mobile clinic, but the results made her a believer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nUnveiled in November 2016, the Sullivan Center\u2019s new mobile health clinic allows the center to effectively reach underserved communities and demonstrates to Clemson students the unique challenges in the care of vulnerable patients like Soto. Paula Watt, director of the Sullivan Center, has seen the center go through two previous mobile clinics since her arrival in 1996, and the Sullivan Center has operated mobile clinics for more than 26 years.
\nThis iteration is anything but ordinary. The new clinic is the world\u2019s first to operate completely off of solar power when parked, and it includes a variety of other features designed to optimize mobile health delivery. According to Watt, the new, one-of-a-kind vehicle that is larger, more efficient and more versatile allows the center to reach underserved communities more effectively.
\n\u201cWe did immeasurable homework on what we wanted, because the clinic is a rolling billboard for Clemson University and the outreach it provides,\u201d Watt said. \u201cThis vehicle is truly a dream come true for me and our staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>
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Click to view video from a mobile device.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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